***Only a little more than half of the students in today’s U.S. elementary schools learn to read and write well enough to be functionally literate.
***More than 40% of the employees in U.S. businesses are functionally illiterate.
***More than 94 million adults in the U.S. can speak, but not read, the English language.
Source: Literacy in the Labor Force Report, 2003. http://literacy-research.com/
As a parent of a child that has struggled with reading and writing, I am very sympathetic to this issue. The public schools of course have implemented programs to help children with these struggles. As an observer to these programs, I fear that they are not helping children to develop these areas as well as they should be, but lowering expectations to help them get by. I realize that some children need the expectations lowered and I appreciate that help. However, here are a couple of things that I personally have heard come out of the mouths of teachers; "Don't worry about spelling, there is always spell check.", "It's ok if they can't read very good, there are always books on tape." "Handwriting is not important, when they grow up they will be doing everything on computer anyway."! That's just a sample of the many excuses that I have heard. That is what they are, excuses for not wanting to put forth the extra effort that it takes to get some children up to speed. Believe me, I know that it can be frustrating! The teachers need help too! One teacher does not have the time to help thirty children with individual needs every single day!
I also understand that some children have disabilities that will keep them from ever being 'up to speed' with the other kids, and that is ok, the programs in place for these kids are wonderful and I am glad that they are in place. Every child deserves the chance to a good education. I just think that there are a drastic number of kids that need extra help in this area that are not getting it. The kids struggle in class and at home with tons of homework, and the schools seem to be ok with these kids barely making it to the next grade. It is a vicious cycle for these kids and it certainly takes any fun out of school!
The complaint from schools of course would be funding, funding, funding! It takes money to get all of the extra help for kids that need it. My fear is that some kids are being put on IEP's, or Individual Educational Program, yet not getting the extra help that they need to overcome their educational shortcomings. Why would this happen? Schools get a substantially larger amount of funding for students that are on IEP's compared to the regular student body. If that money is not spent to educate that child, it's basically income for the school budget! What a terrible thing to suspect, but I am guessing it happens!
Research shows that adolescents with reading problems can master college preparatory material if provided with appropriate, quality literacy instruction.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education, Fact sheet December 2004
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education, Fact sheet December 2004
With the extra help that these kids need, they can be successful! There is nothing better than seeing a child that struggles in school see success in their grades from a job well done! I have always said that it is ok if you are not the quickest worker in your class, every one is on a different level. It is ok if it takes more effort to get the job done. Just like some kids can run faster than others or hit the baseball farther, it just takes a little more practice to catch up! With the help of attentive teachers, helpful and involved parents and even willing friends, kids that struggle in the classroom can see success! Do a struggling child a favor and take the time to listen and help!
I completely agree with your post. A lot of school districts today have gone away from the basic fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic. I didn't really understand how this was becoming common practice until I did recruiting duty and had to actually see if and how schools were effective. Recruiting is very similar to fishing in that you have to try different spots until you find places that consistently produce results. I had a lot of applicants who scored well on the military entrance exam, which the score comes mostly from the math and english sections, but couldn't spell to save their lives. It was very similar to what I call " text-spelling" in that they spell like they text. I would get a handwritten letter from some these bright applicants and I had to read the letter a few times to understand what they were writing! An example would be "C U lTr". Again, I agree that a majority of teachers are encouraging and developing students to be too dependent on technology such as writing programs and calculators. I compare it to a microwave. Yes, it heats up the food as if it was just cooked but heating is completely different from cooking a meal from scratch. Home cooking is always going to be beat a microwave "cooked" meal any day of the week. I agree with you in teachers needing to show action instead of just saying what sounds politically correct. Patience and enthusiasm is contagious, especially as an educator. As far as school districts not properly using the funds obtained for students enrolled in IEP's, I believe this is purposely done and an oversight committee must be put in all districts, not just in name. If an oversight committee validated and enforced standards, money and programs would be able to be properly allocated to provide students with opportunities to develop the three critical skills of reading, writing and arithmetic on a consistent basis.
ReplyDeleteI join your concern about the sad condition the educational structure is in these days. What's truly sad is that education seems to have become a business, and more schools are closing every day somewhere in this country because they're not turning a profit. In this case, by profit I mean students who can function at a passable level. I was stationed in California in the mid 1980's and was friends with a family who had a son in high school. This young man had learning issues but was being passed from grade to grade simply because he was old enough to go to the next grade. Now, that's not an indictment of the school system in Cali, it's just proof that this problem is not new. I'm not one who thinks the government should step in and involve themselves in every little facet of our lives, but I do believe this problem has reached epidemic proportions. Teachers are expected to work at home, spend their own money on supplies, teach our children, raise our children, put in countless hours during the week, work summers, take continuing education classes...somewhere in there they are also supposed to have families, time for themselves and try to have normal lives. Oh...and get little pay and reduced benefits. Should we be concerned that a large percentage of the millionaires in our society have little or no education? Some athletes and entertainers make more money in one game or event than anyone who reads this may make in a decade. We line up to be entertained, but are outraged if teachers threaten to strike because they need better health benefits. We are willing to pay almost $20 for a movie or well over $100 for a sporting event or concert, but grumble over the cost of school supplies. If our government made teacher's salaries commensurate to the degree of impact they have on our society, maybe our best and brightest students would decide to teach. Maybe teaching would become the most sought after job in America. Maybe we would become intellectually competitive with the brightest countries in the world again. Maybe "no child left behind" would become something more than political rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! The fact that our educators are so poorly paid is an outrage! Not only that but education continually takes more budget cuts from our government! The fact that the education of our children is not a top priority of our President is a total embarrassment to this country! Our government should be ashamed that they require so much but give so little!
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